afghanistan as the u.s. withdraws its combat troops and as our team has got edge to reports there is concern washington could keep covering for its hired killers. this iraqi men son nine year old allie khilnani was shot dead by private american war contractors four years ago is bringing shelter to ground between my feet on the same day dozens of other innocent iraqis were shot by trigger happy us professional killers like you were trying to show everyone they can see no one at blackwater the firm for whom the hired guns work has been punished with a massacre two other private american security companies were contracted to carry out interrogations at the notorious abu ghraib prison in iraq a name synonymous now with horrific human rights violations including torture rape and murder the us supreme court recently threw out a lawsuit alleging abuse of prisoners by the contractors. in afghanistan it's reported that human rights violations and even killings are committed by security firms on a regular basis to an extent to undermine coldest.

klein. first up, president obama faced critical decisions on the debt and afghanistan the last few weeks and all the while the geniuses who ran his 2008 campaign have been huddled with their maps and polls, figuring out how to put together a repeat victory. what's the anatomy of a re-election win for obama. he has 4-5, 81% of the people who voted for him last night according to a june nbc poll. what happened to the other 20% of obama's 2008 voters and how does he win them back? let's look at three skenl elements in the anatomy of the obama electorate. in the 2008 exit polls, obama got 66% of voters under 30. now he has just 56% of the under 30's. good? maybe not good enough. another key in the anatomy, suburban voters. any 08 exit polls, 50% of suburbanites went for obama. now he's down to 141%. final will laveragee pin in the obama win n '08 he had 52% of independents. now he has just 43% of independents. john, you wrote game changer about how he did it last time. how do they put, the geniuses out there in chicago and washington, humenty dumpty together again? >> they will be happ

be here. i have beennn here. i have been doing afghanistan and bin laden a the greek crisis. >> the president says he wants to get worng. at he wants us to get working. i cannot think of a better way than to have him come over today. we are waiting. >> senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. republicans were outraged by the president's remarks, outrage. one said that the president ought to come down and take of valium. but harry reid was listening. he canceled the senate's fourth of july holiday -- what a sacrifice. what do you make of the president's performance on wednesday, mark? >> the president recognizes two things. over the past 2.5 years democrats lost public debates on a major initiatives, the economic recovery and health care. they don't want to run the risk to this time. you have back to lay out what the consequences are recklessness and irresponsibility of even entertaining the possibility of letting this country default on its obligations. >> evan, what you make of it? >> you cannot be partisan about this. at least he is showing some energy. but he h got to be an arm tw

been here. i've been doing afghanistan and bin laden and the greek crisis. >> the president says he wants to get working, wants us to get working. i cannot think of a better way than to have him come over today. ng.are waiting sen >> senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. for all the kids were outraged by the president's remarks. -- republicans were outraged by the president's remarks. but harry reid was listening. what you make of the president's performance on wedsday, mark? >> i think the president recognizes two things. over the last two years, democrats lost to the debate on their major initiatives, economom recovery and health care. they don't want to run the risk this time. they have to lay out what the consequences are, the recklessness and irresponsibility of even entertaining the possibility of letting this country defaults on its obligations. >> evan, what do you make of it? >> you cannot be partisan about this. at least he is showing some engy. but he has got to be an arm twister behind the scenes, and he is not really lyndon johnson. this is serious now. this is his mo

. i've been doing afghanistan, bin laden, the greek crisis. >> the president says he wants to get working, wants us to get working. i cannot think of a better way than to pat him, on over to date. -- to have him come over today. we are waiting. >> senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. republicans were outraged by the president's remarked. but harry reid was listening. the majority leader canceled the senate's fourth of july holiday -- what a sacrifice. what do you make of the president's performance on wednesday, mark? >> the president recognizes two things. over the past two years, democrats have lost public debates on major initiatives, economic recovery and health care. they don't want to wind that risk of this time. -- run a risk to this time. they have to lay out the consequences, the recklessness and irresponsibility of even entertaining the possibility of letting this country default on its obligations. >> evan, what do you think? >> you cannot be partisan on this. he is at least showing some energy. but he has got to be an arm twister behind the scenes, and he is not lyn

be here. i have been here. i have been doing afghanistan and bin laden and the greekk crisis. >> the president says he wants to get working. at he wants us to get working. i cannot think of a b better way than to have him come over today. we are waiting. >> senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. republicans were outraged by the president's remarks, outrage. one said that the president ought to come down and take of valium. but harry reid was listening. he canceled the senate's fourth of july holiday -- what a sacrifice. what do you make of the president's performance on wednesday, mark? >> the president recognizes two things. over the past 2.5 years democrats lost public debates on a major initiatives, the economic recovery and health care. they don't want to run the risk to this time. you have back to lay out what the consequences are recklessness and irresponsibility of even entertaining the possibility of letting this countryry default on its obligations. >>>> evan, what you make of it? >> you cannot be partisan about this. at least he is showing some energy. but he has got to be

. i've been doing afghanistan, bin laden, the greek crisis. >> the president says he wants to get working, wants us to get working. i cannot think of a better way than to pat him, on over to date. -- to have him come over today. we are waiting. >> senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. republicans were outraged by the president's remarked. but harry reid was listening. the majority leader canceled the senate's fourth of july holiday -- what a sacrifice. what do you make of the president's performance on wednesday, mark? >> the president recognizes two things. over the past two years, democrats have lost public debates on major initiatives, economic recovery and health care. they don't want to wind that risk of this time. -- run a risk to this time. they have to lay out the consequences, the recklessness and irresponsibility of even entertaining the possibility of letting this country default on its obligations. >> evan, what do you think? >> you cannot be partisan on this. he is at least showing some energy. but he has got to be an arm twister behind the scenes, and he is not lyn

afghanistan. barack obama does not make that a priority. >> why is he not prioritizing this? >> he's got the wrong people around him. it's very clear. i heard you say he's very calm and serene. i love calmness and serenity. but when people i'm concerned about are catching hail which is poor people of all colors, you ought to have a state of emergency. fdr had a state of emergency. lbj, our white brother from texas had a state of emergency in regard to black america. he has conscience. >> in the african-american community particularly, do you feel he's not doing enough to help african-americans especially poor? >> i think there's an ambivalence in america. black people for the most part have a deep sense of protection for barack obama. he's visually attacked by right wing and fox news and others all the time. he lives under the threat of death. we all pray for him daily. >> i haven't i haven't heard fox news say quite what you said about him. >> you know what the reason is? i tell the truth. fox news doesn't. >> so the truth -- when you abuse him it's the truth. when they abuse him -- >> i lo

affairs programs. next, journalist david actxs reports on u.s. troops in southern afghanistan. then, representative thaddeus mccotter announces his candidacy for president. >> tune in to c-span this independent state. panelists discuss if the united states can remain united. >> at the political level, we are more divided. you look at partisan polarization at any point since the civil war and reconstruction. >> then, religion, bonds, and the death penalty. later, nixon white house insiders discuss his foreign policy. this monday on c-span. for the complete schedule, go to c-span.org. >> david axe was imbedded with the u.s. army in afghanistan. it is his fourth visit to the country. he spent time with the 4th airbourne, patrolling in remote areas and engaging the security situation. obama announced a plan to bring 10,000 troops home from afghanistan by the end of the year. >> it depends on where you are. my experience is in the east. i have a little experience in the south. in the south, there is a lot of open combat. this is the headquarters of the taliban. >> in the east the violenc

with the terror attack rocks afghanistan, should the u.s. rethink the drawdown plan? we get on the ground assessment from those on the ground in foreign policy, senator joe lieberman and lindsey graham. what do the fundraising numbers tell us about the presidential field. we ask the sunday panel, which candid gaits are making a move -- candidates are making a move and which are stalled. on this fourth of july weekend, actor gary sinise tells us how he wants to help the veterans and the wounded warriors. all right now on "fox news sunday." hello again, from fox news in washington. as the nation celebrates the fourth of july holiday weekend. it's getting to be crunch time in the capital in the high-stakes battle over increasing the debt ceiling. here to discuss where the negotiations stand is a member of the senate republican leadership, john cornyn. welcome back to sunday sunday. >> good morning. >> on friday, the treasury department reiterated what it told us. august 2 is the date we exhaust the borrowing authority under the current debt ceiling re cap what the president had to say

country in iraq and afghanistan, and was discharged for being gay. he wants to know, what's taking so long? >>> then, japan's reason to hope. inspired by the women's soccer team that could. defying a season of disaster, in a land of darkness. is the sun rising again? >>> i want to get back to our top story, in-depth look into the phone hacking scandal at rupert murdoch's news corp. matthew, first to sean hoare's death, not suspicious, that's what police say, but certainly a strange turn of ooenchevents. >> another bizarre twist. sean hoare, one of the main whistle blowers, first journalist to go on record to accuse andy coulson, former editor of "news of the world" and former director for david cameron, not just knowing about the phone tapping that he alleges went but condoning it and encouraging it. he appeared in the press with more controversy. saying that they had access to sensitive police technology for cash payments, by using what's called pinging to pinpoint through mobile phone signals, the whereabouts of people they wanted to track down. that was another scandal he blew the

unpaid for. it's estimated that the war in afghanistan will is costing $120 billion this year. >> to borrow without limit and without thinking how we are going to pay this back seems to me stupid and immoral. >> for somepson, there is also the problem of selfishness. >> don't blame it all on congress. blame it on the american people who sent people to washington to bring home the bacon. and the way you got reelected was you just went and got it for them. and now the pig is dead. there's no more bacon to bring home. >> solving the debt problem is not only an economic and political challenge. the crisis raises philosophical and moral questions about what kind of government and society americans want. last april, the conservative majority in the house of representatives passed a budget for next year proposed by the chair of its budget committee, paul ryan. he outlined his plan to the american enterprise institute. >> the budget begins by lowering taxes, with top individual and corporate rates capped at 25%. and we can get real growth and nempetition in america. >> and then -- >> it cuts

taking part in afghanistan, they also -- like their scandinavian neighbor denmark -- did have an uproar over the cartoons. but an uproar that i should mention that the norwegian government went out of it way to apologize for. so, basically, it's normally seen as a soft target because it's a peaceful country and considered that. one more thing, rick, you know, it's interesting that the actual nobel prize for peace is given out in oslo, but today it seems very far from that. rick? rick: good observation there. greg burke streaming live for us from europe. thanks very much. jenna: back stateside, it's hot outside. at least 17 states have temperatures above 100 degrees, and more than 20 people have died this this brutal heat wave. utility companies are struggling to keep the juice on in so many places. adam shapiro is in new york city's central park with more. hi, adam. >> reporter: hey, jenna, and it is so hot out here, i'm spritzing the atlantic ocean. i'm going to tell you not only how you can save money, but how you can make money, have the utility company pay you in a heat wave like th

. not just from iraq and afghanistan, but we have half a million troops in bases across the world. >> piers: how many do the chinese have? >> none. they don't have troops. because they know this is not the way you achieve agemny in this world. >> piers: i did a documentary in shanghai recently. fascinating time to be out there. this dynamism that you felt along the city. one frosting young multi millionaire, 125,000 millionaires in shanghai alone. >> how many. >> 125,000 millionaires in shanghai. he said i don't want to kill you. i don't want to take over your land. i want to sell you a duvet. i want to tell you everything in your home but i don't want to kill you. >> that's how they will be number one. they are building $300 billion of high speed rail. this country trying to get the money to build, i think it's $8 billion. they want to lay it between l.a. and las vegas, which i think it's funny that those are the two cities that have to be connected ed connected, but we have none. >> piers: i'm going to ask you which of these two people have the best chance of putting america bac

afghanistan handed over control of the capital of helmand province to the afghan army is one of the first places in the country to go through this transition process to get out of the country by two thousand and fourteen that obama has pledged but is this transition it really as smooth as we're made to believe as the u.s. left the afghan army prepared or doesn't leave behind forces too weak for the job that they've been given these are the concerns about the new guard but jason lot like discover the reality from a better perspective within the ranks of kabul. there's confusion on the faces of the afghan army soldiers as a firefight unfolds on the other side of the wall lucky for them this is the kabul military training center in the bullets being fired blanks the men here halfway through a ten week program and the officers don't cut them any slack when it's over the be deployed in eastern congo or province one of afghanistan's most violent corners mark but we must push them hard so they can perform under pressure day by day we're making progress the afghan national army has already

been here. i've been doing afghanistan and bin laden and -- the greek crisis. >> he has a point, if you go by the number of bills passed. through the first hall of this year, 2011, how many bills become law? 18. 15 of those laws named a building after somebody, extended an expiring law or appointed an official to the smithsonian institute. counting all them, 18 laws, this year's not so big number. >>> up next, kansas is inching closer to an all-out ban on abortion. the state approve as new set of regulations critics say is aimed at shutting down all abortion clinics. all three of them in the state. we're hear from both sides. >>> you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cov

of sources that al qaeda and afghanistan is down to a handful, perhaps two dozen or so. there are those in the presidential race that say we can get out a lot quicker than president obama thinks we can. is our mission done in afghanistan? >> no. no. >> why not? we got the folks that did it? >> our mission is not to capture and bring bin laden to justice, although that was a big part of it, and i commend president bush and particularly president obama for having carried it out. that was one of the high points of his presidency for which he will always get credit historically, whether he wins or loses re-election, and it was a gutsy decision, and he carried it out 100%. the mission in afghanistan is to create a stability there so they don't threaten us in the future, so that doesn't become again the breeding ground for attacks on america the way it was in 2001. we're not there yet. afghanistan is in a state of chaos and confusion, and not in a state where we can say in good conscience where we put it in a situation where we don't need to be there to protect ourselves. and somebody h

. >>> also tonight, fellow soldiers honor one of their own. he was lost in combat, in afghanistan. he was serving as an openly gay soldier. his parents are honoring his memory by fighting for same-sex marriage in minnesota. watch this. >> when you enter the military, you have to take an oath to protect and defend the constitution, and it protects the country against foreign and domestic enemies. the enemy here is intolerance, misinformation, bigotry, probably greed. so as a soldier, that is what he was fighting for. >> i'll talk to them. >>> and a lawmaker in the state who wants to outlaw gay marriage. plus -- the rochester new york woman videotaped for arresting police in our own yard gets the last laugh, but now she fears she's being targeted by the cops. those stories and much, much more, but first the news and a developing story. the former head of the international monetary fund is free from house arrest. dominique strauss-kahn left the manhattan townhouse where he had been staying. he was arrested in may for an alleged sexual assault on a housekeeper. but in recent days, the case se

in afghanistan said today the focus of the war is about to shift away from taliban strongholds in the south and to the eastern border with pakistan where al qaeda still operates. general david petraeus is retiring from the army later this month and will become the new director of the c.i.a. mandy clark spoke with him today in kabul about the way forward in afghanistan. >> reporter: the last days of general david petraeus's command have been marked by two major events: the president's decision to begin withdrawing u.s. forces and days later an audacious attack on one of kabul's most important hotels. general petraeus told us the assault should not be seen as a setback. do you really think that the afghan security forces are ready if they can't protect a major hotel in the cap all? >> i can tell you that our special forces who were sporp not leading and not doing-- for the afghan forces who saw the crisis response unit said that they responded very courageously. in fact, that they took the loss of life with the wounded in action i think underscores that fact. >> reporter: but the tr

about a moment in afghanistan when petry was severely wounded, shot in both legs, looking at a live grenade that could have hurt his fellow soldiers. abc's john donvan on what he did. >> reporter: above and beyond. that's where leroy petry went in may 2008, afghanistan, his seventh tour of duty. these pictures, from before he found out what he was made of. with the true sign of that today being in all the ceremony, a certain discomfort at the attention. >> to be singled out is very humbling. >> reporter: perhaps, yes, for a kid who used to get into fights and who almost failed in high school. but who, out there, picked up a live enemy grenade to toss it away to save his comrades. it cost him his right hand, but he's alive, rare fororedal of honor winners. who usually are honored posthumously. but there's also this. leroy petry decided he's not done. and when he re-enlisted, he took the oath with his right hand. his new one. john donvan, abc news, washington. >> and we want to honor him, too. >>> and, still ahead on "world news," one thing you may want to buy to help create american

attempts to weaken the government of afghanistan. a key adviser to president hamid karzai, john mohammed khan, was killed inside his home today by three attackers. president karzai's half brother also a government official was assassinated less than a week ago. >>> in egypt, new signs that the health of hosni mubarak is deteriorating. the deposed president slipped into a coma today before regaining consciousness. hospital officials say his condition is now stable. mubarak has been hospitalized since april. the former strongman is said to be dealing with complications from cancer. he faces trial in august on charges of ordering the killing of protesters during egypt's revolution. >>> the health of venezuela's president is in doubt after hugo chavez flew back to cuba for cancer treatment last night. chavez says he'll receive chemotherapy as part of an aggressive treatment plan. he hasn't revealed what kind of cancer he has. president chavez spent less than a month in venezuela after an earlier trip to cuba. he is resisting calls to relinquish power. >>> is there a deal on the debt

. solvesier stationed in afghanistan marries the woman of his dreams, over the phone. when they couldn't get married in person, they found a way to make it happen thousands of miles apart. vote by texting 22360. text one for hacker tracker, two for grandny chases incident truder or three tore phone wedding. that will air in the next hour. >>> poker showdown, political game of chicken, hot mess. whatever analogy you prefer, the deadline to raise the country's debt limit is one week from today. still no plans. back to back tv speeches happened last night. you had president obama and house speaker john boehner squaring off or spending cuts and tax increases. >> how can we slash funding for education and clean energy. before we ask people like me to give up tax breaks we don't need and didn't ask for. >> the president has often said we need a balanced approach, which in washington mooedz means we spend more and you pay more. having run a small business, i know those tax increases will destroy jobs. the solution to this crisis is not complicated. if you're spending more money than yo

respected. they have wound up being need that. >> the war in iraq and afghanistan, what would you do? >> help the iraqi security forces to govern that country. in afghanistan, we have to walk -- have to watch out for a precipitous withdrawal. it would create a new harbor for terrorism and they would lose their ability to stabilize the government. >> have you met world leaders? what has been your impression of them? >> i do not believe that is important. i look at the strategic interest of the united states and our allies and how we can mutually cooperate and mutually conflicts. >> finish this sentence. the state of the country today is what? >> an opportunity to be seized. big government and big banks have failed us. the crushing weight of the potential markets have yet to be fixed. that has helped to inhibit the ability of the american people to move forward. it is never a failure of the american people. that is not why we are having the difficulties we are having. it is the failure of governments to affect the larger institutions. for a period of time, you are about something that

from te sports scene. i'm don bell. >>> well, a marine serving in afghanistan just proves that all you have to do is ask and you shall receive. >> you just never know. sergrgnt scott moore posted a youtube invited "black swan" star mila kunis to attend. with the urging of his co-star justin timberlake she said yes. >> worthy date. i think that's great. >>> coming up next the stories we'll follow later on today from the friends and dig thatties who say good-bye to betty ford. "atlantis" astronauts.ask of the we'll be right back. to deal with the sadness, the loss of interest, the lack of energy. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about pristiq -- a prescription medicine proven to treat depression. pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain -- serotonin and norepinephrine. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in mood, behavior, or thoughts of suicide. anti-depressants can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens, and young adults. pristiq is not approved for children under 18. do not ta

pay for two wars in iraq and afghanistan and you borrow all the money from china, you are going to have to pay for it at some point. >> bret: you mention social security in the president's deficit commission report, they say among other things without action the benefits currently pledged under social security are promise we cannot keep. do you think changes need to be made to social security for future generations or not? >> absolutely. you said the operative words. "future generations." we're not talking about balancing the budgets today for future generations. we're doing it because if we don't do it today, the person who pay the mortgage tomorrow see it shot up. this is not about the future obligation. social security will be good for the next quarter century. we should do something after the quarter century, we are not paying 78 cents on the dollar but we're paying 100% on the dollar. >> bret: last year for the first time since the '80s, social security paid out more benefit than it took in payroll taxes. correct? >> true. >> bret: essentially, correct me if i'm wrong, the soc

tossing an enemy grenade away from fellow soldiers in afghanistan. sergeant first class leroy arthur petry is the second recipient of the award for actions in iraq and afghanistan. a baseball fan is lucky to be alive after he almost fell 20 feet head first while trying to catch a ball during the all-star home run derby. keith car michael's brother, friends and some fans grabbed his legs and likely saved his life. last night's incident comes just days after a texas ranger's fan plunged to his death while trying to grab a ball. >>> and the new york fan who caught derek jeter's 3,000th career hit and gave it back instead of trying to cash in could still be slapped with a big tax bill. as much as $14,000 according to some reports. that's because yankee boss gave christian lopez free luxury suite tickets to every remaining game and a lot of yankee autograph swag. if that's taxable income then he'll have to pay up. if it's considered a gift, then he'll be safe from the irs. >> why wouldn't be a gift? >> i don't know. they have to figure this out. what i will say as a non-baseball fan, if y

they can subsidize millionaires and waste money in afghanistan, that's not going to coerce me into voting for it. on the other hand, i do think that some of the few remaining serious republicans understand that they will get blamed for this. so i think there is some pressure to do that. one other point i want to mention, rachel, which deeply angers me, these are people, the tea party people, who came to be the constitutionalists, they are in the process of launching the most fundamental assault on the american constitution, fundamental principle we have ever seen, and that was majority rule. the great breakthrough in the 18th century was self governance. and if you read the constitution, the assumption is majority rule in congress. it's majority rule in the states. in no part of the u.s. constitution are you required to get more than a simple majority of both houses to do anything. there's a 2/3 required for treaty only in the senate. that was special with foreign powers. there's a 2/3 requirement to amend the constitution or to impeach someone. but for legislation everywhere in th

in numbers. unitedhealthcare. >>> coverage of america's longest wars in both afghanistan and iraq have fallen from the papers of national news. a group of dedicated war journalist, still putting their live on the day every day to try to keep america and the world inform pd in total, 170 journalists have been killed in afghanistan and iraq since the u.s.-led invasion. now the world's deadliest area to be a member of the press, despite the so-called end of combat operations. an with us now is al jazee reporter on the ground in iraq. aung irof "hue to avoid being killed in a war zone." the essential survival guide for dangerous places. and rosie, how much of a barrier to cover good war coverage, how much of a barrier to good war coverage has the failure to prepare to cover the war been? >> well, i think that it's the biggest obstacle right now in everything that's going on this year is safety. because, really, that's the only obstacle. there is so much news out there, and whether we can actually get to it is the biggest problem. >> if we are not able to cover these wars, what do you

afghanistan when the taliban attack. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the situation room. a special gathering to tackle america's serious economic problems. key figures from government, business and academia came together this week in chicago for the clinton global might be difference america conference. the event was the brainchild of former president bill clinton. i sat down with him in chicago for a candid interview on the country's debt crisis, the 2012 presidential race, and much more. >> mr. president, thanks very much for joining us. good to be here. first time you've done this as far as the u.s. economy is concerned. normally it's global issues. and i want to get to that, but let's talk about some of the big issues right now. jobs, jobs, jobs. it's a crisis, a game of chicken going on in washington right now between the president, the did democrats on one side, republican leadership on the other side. how big of a deal is this august 2nd deadline for raising the debt ceiling? >> well, because i haven't been

fair practice? detail just ahead. >>> a small group of women in afghanistan have been given an important role negotiating alongside 60 afghan men trying to broker a lasting peace for their country. but the nine women claim that old habits die hard. and they have been margin alzheimer'sed in the talks. they aren't the only onings. while girl schools have been reopened in that country and the burka is no longer required by law, afghan women are treated like second-class citizens. one group in the u.s. is seeking to change that, not just in afghanistan, but other oppressive countries around the world. anita mcbride is now a senior to the george w. bush foundation and joins me now. we're taking about the constitute of economic empowerment for women. you had a two-day conference here. it's a step up. that's the theme of this conference. we've seen afghan women and women from rwanda from other conflict zones who have really become empowered to become entrepreneurs? >> absolutely. this organization raep believes that freedom and democracy in the spirit of entrepreneurship is the path

really, we have the sound bite. >> susan page, remember the comment about afghanistan during the debate. it feels like it's almost as if we're going to find out, well, he misspoke. well, that's -- you know, right now, this is not hurting him too much but over time, this could accumulate. >> going right to a core vulnerability for mitt romney. all the flip-flops we saw last time around on social issue. he cannot afford to be someone as changing positions. if michele bachmann said something -- >> susan page, eugene robinson, richard wolff. we're coming back. you get to say something right after the break. i promise. >>> this is "hardball." two segment analysts. only on msnbc. okies goodbye. new newtons fruit thins. real blueberries and blueberry brown sugar... crispy whole grain. newtons fruit thins, one unique cookie. challenge that with olay regenerist night elixir. its gentle glycolic formula resurfaces at night for the smooth skin of a light chemical peel. sleep tight. regenerist, from olay. >>> the republican presidential field is adding yet another candidate. five-term michigan cong

five american deaths. american taxpayer dollars are vanishing in afghanistan. likely in the hands of those trying to kill our troops. that is according to a new audit. the u.s. agencies limited oversight on the cash that enters the afghan economy, leaving it open to fraud, or diversion to the insurgency. late this afternoon, the senate unanimously passed a bill to extend the term of f.b.i. director robert mueller by two years. number of republicans originally voiced concerns, but by this morning, kentucky senator rand paul was the lone hold-out. after meeting with mueller, paul was satisfied. the president must formally send up the nomination. fear of pirates is having a big impact on the world economy. we will explain. but first, early look at president obama's re-election effort. @@ this just in. friday, the pentagon will appeal the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy that has kept gays from openly serving in the military. according to the law, a 60-day waiting period goes in effect for the policy is officially implemented. other words, in two months. >>> the federal elect

. american taxpayer dollars are vanishing in afghanistan. likely in the hands of those trying to kill our troops. that is according to a new audit. the u.s. agencies limited oversight on the cash that enters the afghan economy, leaving it open to fraud, or diversion to the insurgency. late this afternoon, the senate unanimously passed a bill to extend the term of f.b.i. director robert mueller by two years. number of republicans originally voiced concerns, but by this morning, kentucky senator rand paul was the lone hold-out. after meeting with mueller, paul was satisfied. the president must formally send up the nomination. fear of pirates is having a big impact on the world economy. we will explain. but first, early look at president obama's re-election effort. [ male announcer ] this...is the network -- a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more amecans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with tho

there are allegations that family members of those who have died in afghanistan and in iraq, their phones may have been hacked. then we find out that the phones of those widowed in 9/11, for example, their phones may have been interfered with. that's when it went from sort of acceptable to this is now an appalling, and as james murdoch said the other day, inhuman turn of events. >> what about the people who allegedly did this hacking? do we know exactly who they are at this point? do we know how many of them there are? >> well, this is the point. we don't know how many of them there were. news international, the news the world, for a long period of time, said that there were just a rogue reporter involved in this. the rogue reporter went to prison as did glen vulcary, who was the private investigator. now it comes to light there could be as many as 4,000 people whose phone messages have been listened to, by -- let me tell you, we don't know about the numbers but many, many journalists, not just at the news of the world but possibly across the entire camp. >> this story not over yet